How can we reach our 2020Greenest City Targets?

How can we reach our 2020 Greenest City targets?

Create more community gardens

Provide more opportunities for the creation of community gardens. Existing community gardens should be preserved and enhanced. Encourage community gardens on school grounds for educational and aesthetic purposes.

City has already moved beyond the 2,010 (garden plots) by 2010 challenge. Three new gardens were created in the summer of 2010 and others are currently in the planning stage. This is an idea included in the Draft Greenest City Action Plan.

The Strathcona BIA is trying to make this idea happen through an application for the Aviva Community Fund. Basically, we want to create small community gardens on private properties adjacent to public spaces throughout the neighbourhood. The work to develop the land in preparation for gardening would be done by Mission Possible Enterprises, a local non-profit that provides employment opportunities for individuals with job readiness barriers and assists in breaking the cycles of poverty, homelessness, and addiction. Local youth would also be employed as partners with the landscapers to learn valuable food production and community development skills.

This would not only promote urban food production but it would also create green jobs, reduce crime and beautify the area.

What ever happened to the olympic 2010 community gardens that were supposed to go in?
I know NONE made it into my neighbourhood at 25th and Fraser - why not? With all the huge developments being built along the Fraser corridor, we need GREEN space and garden space for all those people that will be living in those new boxes.

NOTE: Geordie Milne's idea "More land for community gardens" has been merged with this one.

"There are countless amounts of unused lots and spaces (unutilised parks/fields, abandoned lots, rooftops, parking strip, etc.) Absorbing the suns energy and something radiating into the surroundings. Why not designate and community gardens where they will not only produce food and help cultivate community but most importantly; make good use of the sun's energy."

Incentivize commercial building owners to allow their rooftops to be turned into community gardens. This will have multiple benefits - better insulating the buildings creating energy savings; promoting links between business and communities; contributing to better city air quality; enhancing the rooftop skyline; and allowing huge opportunities for new greenspace to be created.